Entertainment In The 1950''''''''s

A Memory of Uxbridge.

Uxbridge was blessed with 3 cinemas; The Odeon, the Regal and the Savoy (the oldest of the three it stood on the corner of Vine St and the High St). The Odeon, I think, had the biggest productions as it had a wider screen. It also ran Saturday morning pictures for kids, admission three (old) pence. The programme often opened with a sing-along; the words projected on the screen with the white ball bouncing along from word to word so you got the rhythm right, accompanied by the theatre organ that rose from the pit infront of the screen. Then two shorts and a main feature. How the poor usherettes stood it I'll never know. The noise was terrific, often drowning the soundtrack, and the amount of litter left behind terrible! All three cinemas also ran an afternoon and a separate evening programme.The films continuously from about 1.15 pm and you could come in in the middle and watch it round again. Great for rainy school holidays. The Aero Milk Bar (by the entrance to the tubestation) had the first jukebox in Uxbridge. It was a place we kids passed by with trepidation. It was the watering hole for the local Teddyboys in their zootsuits and tractor-soled suede shoes and their girlfriends dressed in short pencilskirts, stilletos with hair piled high and pale makeup with eyes heavily eyelined and mascara (a la Brigitte Bardot). In the summer there were Punch & Judy shows in Fassnidge Rec. There was also a summer show for kids usually with a magician and a juggler of some sort. Brass bands played in the bandstand (which is still there, but I believe never used) to an audience seated in deckchairs and on occasional Sunday evenings (of all days) I can remember couples of all ages waltzing or doing a nifty foxtrot round and round the stand. Beyond the bandstand to the left was the bowling green (gone when the park was amputated to less than half its original size). Beautifully kept and used by the rather solemn teams in their white coats and hats.
Rockingham Rec was the venue for the annual visit of R.Beeches Funfair with stands and stalls and rides on both sides of the pathway leading from Frays Waye to the stone bridge. My favourite was the huge galloping horses roundabout which was from Victorian times and was still powered by steam up to around 1955-6. The engine was black and maroon and named "The May Queen" in shining brass letters and underneath, also in brass, the date 1897. This meant nothing to me at the time but i later realized the name was referring to Queen Victoria whose birthday was 24th May and that the date was the Queens Diamond Jubilee. It also had a wonderful organ that played paper rolls and made a magnificent din! It had rattles, drums and castanets and was adorned with three automated figures. In front was a lady dressed in typical music hall costume of the period. High heels and tights, a corseted waspwaisted bodice and topped off with a broadbrimmed hat and feathers. She beat the time with a conductors baton. On each side of her was a military gentleman in hussar costume. These each held a bell aloft with one arm and struck the chimes with the other. I would stay on for three or four rides at a stretch and never tired of it.
But as demand for more 'modern' entertainments increased the fair grew smaller each year and the horses roundabout had all its beautiful decorations obliterated by mauve and silver spray paint, the organ ceased to work and the fair stopped coming in the mid 60's I think. Uxbridge Fete was also held here with flower show and baking competition but either it moved or petered out. For the more highbrow, Uxbridge had an amateur theatre group called Argosy. My father was one of the founders of this group. They put on three productions a year. A shakespeare, a panto, and a more contemporary piece, as well as competing in radio competitions and festivals. Five performances of each and a matinee for the panto. I made my stage debut in 1952 as the changeling prince in "a Midsummer Nights Dream" performed in the gardens of Fassnidge Hall under the enormous cedar (the gardens are gone now alas). Argosy rehearsed in an old army hut in Bennets Yard and had an extensive wardrobe housed in 1 Windsor St (demolished). Many of the costumes were original vintage items but alot were leftovers from Pinewood Studios thanks to Mrs Lake who was a production assistant there.They had strong support in the community and performed to full houses in St Johns Hall, opposite Bishopshalt School, sometimes attended by celebs. The actor Edmond Purdom came once I remember and Robert Mitchum Jr. I know Argosy is still going strong and dad would have been pleased to see that his legacy and that of the other founders is still thriving.
In the above photo you can see, on the righthand side, a white sign hanging over a bow-fronted window. This was T.Barnards second hand bookshop. Established just after the war with my father (Tommy was also one of Argosys founders). In the 50's there were stacks of boxes of used 78rpm records outside. There were still many wind-up gramophones around as well as radiogrammes that were huge cabinets incorporating a radio, an electrical 78 rpm turntable and a cupboard for storing records. I had an HMV oak wind-up table model with doors that opened at the front. Tommy Barnard took a liking to me and I could exchange whole boxes of records at a time. In this way I got my intro to classical music as well as pre-war dancebands (my favourite tune being "Brown Eyes Why Are You Blue" )